AmazonFresh is giving its customers the chance to add the ultimate showstopper to the dining table this Christmas with the introduction of the 24 carat ‘Golden Goose’.
By teaming up with C.Lidgate, a fifth-generation family butchers in Holland Park, AmazonFresh is offering customers the opportunity to add some festive sparkle to their Christmas cooking. Hand selected from Seldom Seen Farm in Leicester, each free range goose will be delivered with 24 carat edible gold leaf, for customers to apply once the bird is cooked and rested. The resulting 4.5-5kg ‘Golden Goose’ will serve between 5-6 people and will be available to buy from Monday 4th December on AmazonFresh (www.amazon.co.uk/goldengoose) for £98.50.
Gilding roast birds was the ultimate sign of wealth and opulence at 16th century banquets and was a rumoured favourite of Henry VIII. The grandeur of these golden dinners was a display of the host’s wealth and made for a spectacular centrepiece for the guests around the table. AmazonFresh, together with C.Lidgate, is bringing back this historical cooking tradition for customers this festive season.
“Gilding food has long been a mark of tremendous prestige, showing off wealth and the skills of one’s cooks. Gold not only looked good in and of itself, but it reflected the light from fires and candles, glittering across the table and competing with the rich jewels and gold-and-silver-embroidered clothing of the privileged diners around it,” said Annie Gray, TV Food Historian and research associate at the University of York. “In the medieval and Tudor era, gilded roast centrepieces were the ultimate showstopper on the winter feast table. A cheaper option was to use paste containing saffron or safflower, but nothing beats real edible gold.”